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Alnico 3 vs. Alnico 2 Question

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  • Alnico 3 vs. Alnico 2 Question

    Hi, I'm trying to decide what magnets I'm gonna use for my next Telecaster bridge PU wind. I had excellent experience w. a SD 5/2 PU. However he bass strings are pretty pronounced on that particular Telecaster so I was thinking about using Alnico 3 for the E,A. and D strings.
    Lemme put my question this way: With a given identical bobbin and w. the same wind, how would Alnico 3 magnets sound compared to Alnico 5 or Alnico 2 magnets?
    Would Alnico 3 loose pick attack or treble or would it sound even more to the treblier side?

  • #2
    Alnico 3 possibly could be brighter than A5 but it is smoother ,more midrange than A5 & less bass ,A3 is tighter & brighter than A2
    "UP here in the Canada we shoot things we don't understand"

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    • #3
      Thank you for your respond. I was assuming the same thing as I heard it in a similar way but wasn't sure. I have three Telecasters w. Alnico 5, 3, and a 5/2 in the neck position. I Ab tested countless guitars w. various PU combinations and also had the chance to include real black guard Teles during my research. It's tough to keep yourself out of the psycho acoustics and in the end you'll end up undecided about what you hear as you have to take each guitar's individual wood resonance into account. That's probably the most difficult factor in the equation.
      BTW, I was almost going to delete my question after I had read a thread where people were complaining about giving out too much information. I hadn't realized that this was a forum only for PU builder (from scratch). There was no request to prove that I had a business during the registration process, so I only realized it by reading a few threads after I had posted.
      Fortunately it seems that not everyone here thinks the same way, so I might give it a try though.
      Again thank you. Your respond is much appreciated..

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      • #4
        I'd be happy to give you my view on the Topic

        first you need to understand that Different magnets can gauss to Different strengths
        alnico 2 approximately-7000-7500max
        alnico 3 approximately 6500max
        alnico 5 approximately 11000-12500DG type
        alot of good Telecaster bridge PU is degauss alnico 5

        if you use the same wire,tansion,numbers of terns... you get Different flux dipanding on the type of magnets,gauss,magnetic field of the solenoid
        the max point is the magnetic saturation so my advise is use 2 or 3 or 5 made the pickup with almost max gauss and if you cant make 500 or so more winding and
        Listen if its to "hot" Undo 50-100 winding and listen Again

        to say alnico 2 sound 123 alnico 5 sound 123 its Oversimplification

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        • #5
          A2 often sounds hotter than A3. I wouldn't think either would sound as bright as A5 or as hot. To me they sound "spongy", the A5 has a harder edge. Around here you get what you pay for as long as you are willing to pay in kind.

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          • #6
            I used to play Jason Lollar's 52 set which was w. Alnico 2. It had a beautiful bell like tone and over my SF amps it almost sounded as if it came out of a mastered CD. However I felt that I needed a pip more punch and swapped them out for some other brand w. Alnico 5 and later on against an Alnico 3 PU.
            Like I said, every guitar needs its' own custom tailored PU to match its' individual sound band and for whatever the player is looking forward to sound like.
            On my daily Tele it is most likely to be a PU w. 2 different Alnico grades within the same bridge PU.
            It's definitely going to be Alnico 2 on the three treble strings because I'm often playing my Fender SF amps and also my 59 Bassman amp which can be ice pick terror. For the bottom three strings I'm probably going to give Alnico 3 a spin.
            I like the low pull thing and also found out that in my particular case a staggered PU is by far the better sounding config.
            Anyway thanx for your thoughts guys.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by David King View Post
              A2 often sounds hotter than A3.
              I agree when talking about bar magnets but I have found alnico 2 in rod form,weak & have found A3 stronger , But It could be the tighter bass that gave me the vibe ,It's been a while since I experimented with a2,a3 rods
              "UP here in the Canada we shoot things we don't understand"

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              • #8
                Originally posted by copperheadroads View Post
                ................. have found A3 stronger , But It could be the tighter bass that gave me the vibe..........
                Possibly yes. High frequencies are making your ear think things are louder, even though it is lower in volume db wise.

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